Sydney
by ShiningGalaxy
Summary: Sydney Knight had always been a free spirit and a kind soul, possessing a high sense of loyalty to those she loves. She never thought that her work as a freelance photographer and the years following the disappearance would end up with her having to make the choice between prison or fight for what - or who - she believes is right. Loki/OC


**_I don't own Avengers or anything associated with it. I do, however, own the plot, the characters that are **not** in the marvel universe._**

 _August 18th, 2016_

 ** _8 8 8_**

"Just as you would with any weapon, remember the principles in which you have been taught." The instructor spoke, his voice loud and booming, his bright blue eyes scanning the candidates in which he were to train with weapons. "Widen your stance, lean back slightly, the butt of the weapon must be firmly in place or else you are not going to do well with your groupings."

Sydney smiled as she brought her camera up to her face, adjusting her shot before aiming and shooting, nodding with contentment as she went back through and was satisfied with the images. Leaning back against the back wall, ensuring that her hearing protection was in place, waiting for the candidates to begin their assessments before she began taking necessary photos.

A couple of hours had gone by before the class had been finished and she was now speaking to the instructor. He came up to her and shook her hand, "Thank you, Miss Knight for coming in to take photos for the Academy, I understand that you are under a lot of pressure to meet up with clients, so I greatly appreciate all that you have done today."

"I'm happy to do it, sir," She took his hand and nodded to him. "I will, hopefully, have these pictures edited and sent back to you by this weekend, if that works for you?"

"That is no problem, again, we greatly appreciate your time."

"It's of no problem, it's what I do." She took a step back, "I hope you have a good night, and I'll be in touch with you soon."

Placing her camera back into her bag and throwing it over her shoulder, Sydney took the stairs, flying down them until she found herself in the lobby and onto the street, nodding to all who passed by, sometimes she would receive a smile, a frown, or nothing at all. It was the way that the world was heading, it seemed.

Dark. Distant. Unfamiliar to the the world in which she had grown up in.

To say that Sydney had a good life was a bit of an understatement, and though her parents had taught her from an early age that hard work, honesty, and determination would help those get through life, it didn't prepare for her to find out that they had disappeared without a trace, and without any relatives to look after her, she was placed from one foster home to another.

Some were good; some were bad.

And it was then that she knew that not everyone would be there to help her get through the tough times, that not everyone had the same sort of heart that she did.

It was a hard pill to swallow for a ten year old girl.

As the years passed by, Sydney taught herself to be self-sufficient, and once she was able to afford a place - or at least jumping from one hotel room from another - she had left without so much as a sideways glance to those around her.

Her light blue eyes scanned to see if anyone was coming on either side of the road before she crossed, sighing as she wrapped her coat tightly around her slightly larger frame as the cool, mid November breeze nipped angrily at her face and neck. A shiver ran down her spine as she rounded a corner and the wind becoming even more biting as, through the watery gaze, she could see her hotel.

At a brisk pace she eventually made it back to the hotel room, shivering as the warmth radiated through her body, ridding it of the chill that had encompassed it just moments ago. Nodding to the receptionist Sydney went over to the stairs and took them two at a time to the top floor - which was the fourth one - opened the door, slightly out of breath and stepped out onto the carpeted hallway.

It was quiet, as it usually was, when she passed by the rooms, a couple had children in which their giggles were muffled by the closed doors. A pang struck her heart as she wondered if she would ever have the pleasure of her own children someday but shoved that to the back of her mind.

She loved children, the world in which they lived, Sydney did not and refused to bring children into a world such as theirs.

Their was a falter in her steps as she slowed down, her heart beginning to thump madly in her chest as she noticed that the door to her room was slightly ajar. Confusion overtook her features as she tried to remember if she had closed it or not, panic rising as she came to the conclusion that she had, indeed, closed it.

 _Call security!_ Her mind screamed desperately at her, and she knew that what she was doing was incredibly stupid as she reached into her boot and pulled out the sheathed knife she _always_ had in there, carefully unsheathing it before holding it tightly within her sweaty hand. It shook as adrenaline began to pump through her.

Taking a deep breath through her nose she pushed the door open with her foot as she leaned against the wall beside the door. And in her mind, she couldn't help but think that this was it, this was where she was going to die.

 _How incredibly stupid!_

With one swift movement, it was like her someone else had control of her body as she hastily removed herself from the wall and entered, carefully, into the room. Her eyes scanned every nook and cranny, seeing if anything was amiss.

She knew someone was there, she could feel their stare at the back of her neck, the hairs on her arms standing erect as she continued to search through the small room. A few drawers of the nightstand and the desk was opened. Books, paper, and her small bag of clothes were opened, and her laptop was opened, everything scattered on her bed and the desk.

From what she could see, nothing was missing, but it was like someone was looking for something and she scoffed, well, it wasn't like she had much of anything for someone to steal anyway, but still, it made her feel angry that anyone would want to take what _wasn't_ theirs.

The grip she had on the knife tightened considerably as her anger steadily rose. Now she'd have to clean the damn place up before she went and had a nice hot shower.

The sound of the floor creaking behind her caused Sydney to pause where she was, her breath hitching, her mouth immediately going dry as she heard a thick Russian accent behind her. It sent shivers down her spine and it was then, that she knew, that she was in danger.

"Where is it?"


End file.
